Hatton-Pacquiao bout set for May 2

The fight for Hatton's 140 pound title was finally set on May 02, after weeks of negotiations.

The bout was nearly spoiled by Pacquiao a number of times due to demands of bigger share of the huge proceeds of the fight. After several talks, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum finally convinced Pacquiao to sign the necessary contracts.

"I always like new challenges, which is the reason I am concerned to fight Ricky Hatton," Pacquiao said in a statement released by Top Rank. "My trainer, Freddie Roach, will put together a new game plan which will be much different than the one we used against Oscar. There are concerns because Hatton is a very strong puncher, so I must deal with that in the ring."
Hatton’s (45-1) only defeat came in December 2007 when he was stopped in the 10th round by Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao (48-3-2) has won his last nine contests. He took the world lightweight title from David Diaz, and then moved up two weight divisions to stop De La Hoya in eight rounds as a welterweight.